Designed to Handle Oxygen: Lessons from Asgard Archaea

Science Update from ICR · Mar 19, 2026

Oxygen gives cells energy. But oxygen can also harm cells. Any organism that uses oxygen must both harness the power and protect itself against being damaged. A recent paper in Nature reports that certain Asgard archaea contain genes linked to oxygen use and suggests this helps explain how complex cells evolved over long ages.1 The key issue is not whether these microbes have oxygen-related genes—they do. The real ... More...